Normal Life
by casoloma123
Summary: Caroline is doing well. Her boyfriend is alive and loves her, her friends are okay, and aside from strange dreams Caroline is adjusting to Klaus' death rather well. She seems to be living a rather normal life. Until he comes back.
1. Caroline's Point Of View

**DISCLAIMER: I DID NOT OWN THE CHARACTERS OR THE VAMPIRE DIARIES.**

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Caroline was in a forest, walking down some barely-there path. She heard that voice. His voice. Klaus.

"I dare you."

His words echoed through the trees in her dream. Again. It wasn't like that was the last thing he said to her before he got staked, or even the most significant ones he'd said to her ever, they were just ones that stuck. How did he know how to push her? The challenge in his tone that she just couldn't resist. It was infuriating. A giant version of that stupid smirk he perpetually wore floated in front of her dream self, like a stupid half wolf Cheshire, mouthing the words over and over. She should probably be used to it by now, it generally featured in every dream she had, but it still managed to cause a shiver of some emotion to radiate down her spine. She saw Tyler in her dreams too, warning her that he wasn't quite what he seemed. Granted, that part of her dreams had some merit. Ever since he showed up at her house and told her that he wasn't going to die, he had been acting odd. She expected some sort of withdrawal or shock for a while. Escaping death has historically made people focus on the fragility of like and all that shit. So it was a rather nice shock to notice that instead of isolating himself like she expected, he became more attentive and sweet and all around thoughtful. He was looking at her differently too. If she left herself, she might have compared it to the way Klaus used to look at her, but of course the only time she let herself think of _him_ was when she dreamed; she was too afraid of what her mind might whisper to her if she allowed her conscious to begin to reflect her subconscious.

The upbeat music of her alarm clock woke Caroline from her strange, meaningless dream. She rolled out of bed and got ready for her day. She had promised Elena that they would have a 'normal girl' day, complete with shopping, movies, ice cream, and complaints about boys. Lord knew Elena needed it. She was still having trouble with the whole 'baby vampire' thing (but if Caroline was being honest, she was glad she wasn't the youngest anymore) plus she still had to decide between the two Salvatores. Apparently, since becoming a vampire, Elena had some new memories popping up and she wanted to spend some time thinking about them before she talked to someone about it. So Caroline was playing the distraction game, something she was very good at. At least, that _was _the plan. When she saw who was waiting in her bedroom when she returned from fixing her makeup, she doubted very much that Elena would need Caroline to divert her mind from the Salvatore Brothers.

"Hello, sweetheart."

His voice was quiet. His accent was exactly as she remembered. _He _was exactly as she remembered, down to the necklaces he wore. The only change was his expression. The smirk that vexed her sleeping hours was missing. He looked, Caroline observed, almost nervous. A small, hopeful smile was barely present on his face. She stood, shocked and speechless, until the smile grew a fraction. Then she proceeded to freak out.

"What the flying fuck are you doing here? You're not supposed to be alive! Everything was good! Why do you have to ruin this?"

It was, admittedly, not her best or most eloquent line of questioning, but it was the best she could do under the circumstances. While his continued existence explained why almost everyone she loved, including herself, was still alive she still hated him for returning to infuriate her while she was conscious. It was bad enough that he invaded her head while she slept. She marched over to the hybrid and slapped him on his chiseled cheekbone.

"Well? Explain yourself!"

"I was switched in to someone else's body before this one was staked. Bonnie just managed to restore me-"

"You mean she _knew_? And she didn't tell us?"

"Only because I threatened to harm Jeremy if she did, love. I assure you she wanted to. She really despises me." He was attempting to calm her down, using a 'soothing' voice and ridiculous up and down hand gestures,

"Of course she does! You're a murderer! You're a liar and an asshole! You can't jus

If her mind hadn't been clouded by her rage, she might have wondered why he was defending her friend or why he hadn't blocked or dodged her slap. But it was, so she continued to allow it to dictate her words.

"We were so much better when you were dead! God, we were happy! And now you come back and ruin everything! I threw a freaking party, for Christ's sake! We-"

"You threw a party?" Klaus looked wounded. "You hate me so much?"

"Yes! I was better off without you in my life!" Caroline cringed. She hadn't included her friend's lives. She had inadvertently made it personal. That was going to be a problem. He could easily misunderstand. He might think she was feeling... Things. She was becoming increasingly exasperated. Why couldn't he just leave her alone!

"Why?" He seemed genuinely confused.

Seriously? The fact that he attempted to murder almost everyone she knew wasn't a reason for her to hate him? Okay, he saved her life twice. And he saved Damon. And maybe because he knows that both the Salvatores have tried to, and succeeded in, killing multiple people, she might reserve judgement on murderers. But still, this was Klaus. Even if she would probably forgive anyone else if they did the things they did, he was special.

"Just... _Because_!" That was lame, even considering the circumstances.

"Because?" Klaus was amused now. "That is the best you could come up with? Very well, if we're going to be childish about it, because why?"

"Eragh!" Really, Caroline? Resorting to sounds already? She tried to cover it, speaking as quickly as the words came to her mouth, not bothering to filter in her attempt to mask the fact that he had beaten her. "Because you screwed with my head! Because I have a boyfriend you nearly killed and he nearly killed me because you told him to and because, despite that, you saved me!"

"Because I saved you, you wanted me dead?"

"Yes! You confuse me! I was thrilled to get some time to think and be away from your stupid drawings and pretty jewelry and fancy dresses and your damn compliments that always sound so fucking sincere!" She hadn't meant to swear. Or say the bracelet was pretty. Or express any of what she just said in the first place. Great. This was not how she had hoped her day would be going. "You are so annoying and... And... _Persistent_! It's infuriating!"

Klaus was still confused- at least, he acted like he was. "Why would that-"

She didn't let him finish. Acting out of anger, or frustration, or the pent up emotions that had been growing inside her since the day he saved her life, Caroline swiftly rammed her face against his in a desperate kiss. He responded immediately, kissing her long and hard, wrapping one arm around his waist and tangled his other hand in her hair, keeping her mouth against his.

When she finally managed to break the kiss, Caroline looked at Klaus, horrified that she let herself even touch the damn hybrid. They stood there, him with his stupid smirk, and her with a look of abject horror at what she had just initiated on her face. They remained in silence for a beat, before she broke it.

"Get out. Just leave. Don't you ever speak to me or acknowledge this conversation ever again. Leave me alone and leave my house."

"Come on, love, you don't seriously want to be rid of me, especially if the quality of your, err, _conversation_ is any indicator."

"I said go!"

Klaus grinned wolfishly and Caroline thought he was going to try to kiss her again, but he simply nodded and said "I'll leave, sweetheart, but you'll see me again soon, I expect."

"Whatever. Go."

And so Klaus left, and Caroline was left to figure out what just happened between them. She probably would have stood there all day if her phone hadn't begun to beep, alerting her to a new text message. When she looked, Caroline discovered that Elena was waiting to do their 'normal girl' day at the square and she was late. Caroline replied, letting Elena know that she was on her way. She checked her make up in the mirror on the way out the door and was horrified to realise that her lipstick was smudged. She removed it and reapplied, before going out to pretend that she was a normal girl, with a normal life, and normal feelings, for a day.


	2. Klaus' Point of View

**So I'm not used to writing fics, this is my first.**

**Anyway, this started as a one-shot, but thanks to a few people who have kindly encouraged me to develop this idea, I've decided to continue it. I'm not exactly sure where this is going yet, but hopefully I can make this in to a proper story. I'm gonna plot everything out over the next few days.**

**This chapter deals with the same events as the previous one, except from Klaus' point of view****. I would probably just tack this one on to the previous, but I don't know how to do that yet, as I said, I'm new.**

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN THE VAMPIRE DIARIES OR THE CHARACTERS (much to my regret)**

It was a bad idea. Klaus knew that from the start, but still he went. The second Bonnie managed to restore him to his body, he knew he had to see her, if only to say goodbye. It was a terrible idea that could only end badly, but that didn't matter. He knew that if he went to see her, uninvited and unexpectedly, he would fumble over his words and she would be offended and things would be bad. The only times they had positive interactions was when he had time to think about what he was going to say, and even then the positivity of the encounter could only be judged relative to all the more negative ones. He had lived a thousand years and learned to read everyone's body language and was able to guess intentions fairly accurately. At least, he could until _her._ No matter what he said, she would do something unexpected and make him feel small. She was the only one who managed to make him feel more human and less like the monster he truly was. She made him feel like he was an actual person, if only for a short time.

She should not be allowed near him and he should not go to her. Such light in a person would only be sullied if it came into contact with the hatred inside of him. She was too good for that. For him. But that was the very thing that wouldn't let him keep away. There was a promise in her goodness. It whispered of his salvation. He might be an evil, worthless demon, but with her... He was more. Around her, he was able to forget his flaws and trick himself in to thinking he would be worthy of her time and love if he only tried hard enough.

Perhaps that was why he was unwilling to leave Tyler's body. It was as if the sins his mind and soul had committed were left in his old body. It was a magnificent specimen of a body, granted, but there was so much blood on those hands... It was lovely to be in a body that people, namely Caroline, didn't physically recoil from when he got near to them. It was nice to be able to hold her without her worrying that he was going to kill her, or her friends. Not to mention the fact that he got to be honest with her without her doubting his motives. He liked being real around her much more than he was prepared to admit, even to himself.

When he was finally released from his oddly comforting hybrid mutt prison and restored to his previous, damaged self, it took him a while to become readjusted to his normal proportions. Suddenly his limbs were longer and his muscles less obvious and he had trouble judging how long his strides had to be. This resulted in him comically walking into trees and falling over roots a few times, before he became adjusted to his body again. Luckily the witch and the mutt had made a hasty exit and were not there to witness his lack of grace.

With a secret hope in his heart, he made his way over to Caroline's house. He would have been faster, had his trouble with his renewed body not held him up for a short period. Because it took him longer than he anticipated, he arrived at her house after she had woken up, which was a shame. He had wanted to watch her sleep with his old eyes. It had been one of his favourite hobbies when he was in Tyler's body. Of course, the staring never happened post-sex. That was the one thing he had refused her. If he was going to have her, he was going to do it himself, not through some pathetic puppet. Neither did he stare at her in the same way that glittery fairy guy Caroline would talk about while she and 'Tyler' were doing homework. He wasn't a stalker if he didn't need to be. On the rare occasions he got to look at her face while she was completely at rest, it was when she had fallen asleep next to him while watching a movie or attempting trigonometry (a feat Klaus had mastered in the mid eighteen hundreds but suspected that Tyler was much less proficient then he and so he avoided it entirely). She was in the bathroom, singing one of those ridiculous pop songs she was so fond of to herself, so he decided to wait until she appeared in her bedroom again, hoping not to catch her in a compromising position. He felt that that would not renewed their relationship on a good foot. For the first time in a century, he was nervous. He mocked himself internally. Imagine him, Niklaus Mikaelson, nervous about talking to someone. He was the most powerful thing on the planet, and one little girl had him jumpy as a school boy.

As he waited for Caroline to return, he took the time to examine her room. He had not been in here since before he was Tyler. He thought that the sight of her bed would tempt him to be less than gentlemanly. Quite right too, he was having uncomfortable notions just looking at it, even with an absence of her. In an effort to distract himself, he gazed intently at every other piece of furniture in the room. He noticed a familiar piece of paper sticking out of one of her books (Pride and Prejudice. It was a comforting book, seeing as the plot was about a woman who originally hated a man she grew to love) and picked it up. He was right. It was the drawing he had given her. Klaus did not expect Caroline to keep it, but seeing as she did he allowed himself to nurse a flicker of quiet optimism in his chest. Maybe this would not go so badly after all...

Klaus heard Caroline moving in her bathroom. He hastily put his drawing (correction: _her_ drawing now) back into the book and waited for Caroline to emerge into her room. The seconds felt like days as Klaus tried to imagine what she would say about his return.

When Caroline finally left her bathroom, she was more beautiful than he remembered, and he had last seen her only the day before. Her gorgeous features were arranged in an expression of shock that would have been off-putting at best on anyone else, but on her... it was simply endearing.

"Hello, sweetheart."

So far, this was going well. He had managed to not put his foot in his mouth yet and while he had no idea what he wanted to say to her exactly, he knew she deserved the truth and he was going to give it to her, he just hadn't figured out how. He checked to see if she had moved during his thought process. She hadn't. Still going better than expected. She was only staring and he had prepared himself for worse. He allowed that flicker of hope that she might be glad to see him grow a fraction and something on his face must have betrayed his thoughts, because she was suddenly spurred into action.

He had every intention of telling her that he had inhabited the body that she was so keen to be near for the last week but, of course, she never let him get that far. Even though he'd lived more than anyone else on the planet, she was still able to take him by surprise. He expected the verbal tirade that followed his greeting, as well as the slap, but he wasn't prepared for what came after it.

"We were so much better when you were dead! God, we were happy! And now you come back and ruin everything! I threw a freaking party, for Christ's sake! We-"

The words stung.

"You threw a party?" Klaus interrupted. He knew that Caroline had mixed feelings towards him, but he hadn't expected her to be the one initiating the celebration of his death. "You hate me so much?"

"Yes! I was better off without you in my life!"

_Her_ life? This was getting interesting. He could understand her thinking that her friends were better off without him, he had tried to kill them after all, but he had been nothing but kind to her, if you excluded that one time he had her boyfriend kill her. But that was more to show Tyler who was boss than to cause her any physical or emotional distress. And he had fixed his mistake later. Secretly, he thought that Tyler might have been strong enough to resist his sire bond; when he failed, Klaus lost all respect for his pet mutt. Weak hybrids were almost as bad as no hybrids.

"Why?" He needed to know her reasoning. He wanted to know if there was a chance that the rare feeling of optimism he had had was worth it.

"Just... _Because_!"

Well... that answered none of his questions. Perhaps it was too early in the morning for them to be having this discussion. Although, if he remembered correctly (and he was sure that he did), Caroline was one of those people who were obnoxiously perky and alert early in the day, so perhaps she was just attempting to avoid a truth she didn't like. Things were looking good for Niklaus.

"Because? That is the best you could come up with? Very well, if we're going to be childish about it, because why?"

"Eragh!"

If she was anybody but beautiful, glorious Caroline, he would have mocked her for her lack of articulation. But, thankfully, she was not and he found her to be completely charming.

"Because you screwed with my head! Because I have a boyfriend you nearly killed and he nearly killed me because you told him to and because, despite that, you saved me!"

That threw him. Of all the unexpected things for her to say, telling him that she was confused about the fact that he saved her life to make up for a terrible decision he had made was possibly the least likely thing he could have prepared himself for. As if _anyone_ would hesitate for even a moment before doing whatever was possible to save that amazing girl's life. For the first time, he realised how overlooked this poor angel was.

He checked himself. He knew he was a romantic, but _angel_? Really? Pathetic. He tried to understand.

"Because I saved you, you wanted me dead?"

"Yes! You confuse me! I was thrilled to get some time to think and be away from your stupid drawings and pretty jewelry and fancy dresses and your damn compliments that always sound so fucking sincere! You are so annoying and... and..._Persistent_! It's infuriating!"

Klaus was too busy being furious at the Salvatore's and that stupid mutt Tyler and the damn witch and that stupid, overrated doppelganger, whom he used to value so highly, to fully comprehend the meaning behind her words. How dare anyone treat this girl with such inattention? Why on earth was Elena still so important, especially since she was now a vampire and of no use to anyone? He spoke without really thinking. "Why would that-"

He didn't get to finish what he was sure would have been a poorly worded thought. He mouth was suddenly on his. It was as if she was trying to devour him. Not that he minded. In fact, he was very pleasantly surprised by the turn of events and made a mental note to make her angry more in the future. He attempted to respond with as much enthusiasm as she apparently showed and did his best to make her forget the world around her, now that he had the chance to do it properly.

She ended it much too soon for Klaus' liking, but he wasn't about to push her into doing anything she didn't want to; she was an independent young woman who didn't need him, or any other vampire (or vampire brothers) to make decisions for her. He respected her for that. He realised then that was a long time since he last respected anybody, even his own siblings. He was pleased that he was still capable of it.

Klaus' mind replayed the events that occurred less than a minute ago over and over. He reflected that this turned out much better than their normal interactions did, and all in all, it worked in his favour. The optimism in his chest was definitely burning.

"Get out. Just leave. Don't you ever speak to me or acknowledge this conversation ever again. Leave me alone and leave my house."

He doubted her words. Now that he let himself have hope, he'd be damned again before he let anyone take it away from him.

"Come on, love, you don't seriously want to be rid of me, especially if the quality of your, err, _conversation_ is any indicator."

"I said go!"

Klaus smiled. This was normal. This was what he was used to. This was not going to last. _She_had kissed _him_! Not the other way around. There was something between them now, he just had to get it to grow.

Oh crap. He suddenly remembered why he had come to see her in the first place. He couldn't tell her now. It would just ruin everything. She could wait a few hours while he figured out how exactly to tell her that that wasn't their first or even tenth kiss without offending her and losing Caroline forever.

"I'll leave, sweetheart, but you'll see me again soon, I expect."

"Whatever. Go."

He knew better than to press his luck. He left cheerfully, knowing that he was right to have hope, even if hopeful was not his normal state of being. Normal. What a funny word.

**A/N: I hope you guys don't mind me switching perspectives, I just really wanted to explore how Klaus might have felt in the situation he was in. I think I'm pretty in character, although I might be emphasizing his romantic side a little. I'm still playing around and hopefully I can be better in the future.**

**Also, originally this was a much shorter chapter, I kind of got carried away. Sorry about that.**

**I would just like to thank everyone who read my first chapter and liked it, I honestly did not expect anyone to read it at all, let alone like it. Thank you all, so much. I am sending you cyber cupcakes.**

**Feel free to review :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: I'm so sorry this took so long to update! I had unfortunately been struck with a bout of uninspiration, which is now a word. Luckily, it appears to have ended and I'll probably be updating more frequently. Hopefully with quality writing. I'm working on capturing the way the characters speak and think, which is more difficult than I had hoped it'd be.**

**DISCLAIMER: I own my ideas. Unfortunately, TVD and the characters in this story are not my ideas :(**

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Caroline took a deep breath as she parked her car across from the Grill. She could see Elena waiting by the obelisk in the town square, her face crinkled in thought, and Caroline wasn't sure how prepared she was to see her. What was she supposed to say? 'Sorry I'm late, I was just attacking a guy, lips first, you know how it is. Actually, it was the same guy who has attacked you on numerous occasions and incidentally, we thought he was dead. Surprise?'

No, the best thing to do would be to keep her trap shut for the time being. She could figure out how to break the whole Klaus-is-back-and-we-played-tonsil-hockey thing later. Right now, she needed a moment to be normal. With another deep breath, she got out of the car and headed over to where Elena was standing. This was going to a long day.

"Hey Elena. I'm so sorry I'm late! My stupid alarm clock was being stupid. Anyway, I'm _utterly _starved. Let's eat!" Caroline's voice was forcefully bright, and Elena took note.

"Care... Is everything okay? I mean, I'm supposed to be the emotionally unstable one today!" Her attempt at a joke fell short, not only because it belied Elena's insecurity, but also because Caroline was still distracted from the events of the morning. Dammit, she could still feel his lips. This had never happened before. A kiss had never stayed with her for more than a few minutes after it ended, and this one was still making her shiver more than twenty minutes later! There was something wrong with her. Definitely.

"What? Oh no, I'm good. Still waking up, that's all. And you're not emotionally unstable, you're a newborn." Caroline sent an affectionately reproachful look her friend's way.

Elena smiled "I suppose you know exactly how I'm feeling. Sort of. This gets better, right?"

It was not the first time she had asked that question.

"Of course it does! I mean, look at _me!_ I'm fine!" Another grin. It was less forced this time, mostly because Caroline was darkly amused by the irony of that statement. In truth, the last time she was truly content with her life was long before she was a vampire, back when her parents were still together. But she could never tell Elena that. To tell her friend that would be to take away her hope and attract her pity. And Caroline had had more than enough of Elena's pity.

"You're going to be just fine, Elena." Caroline believed the words she spoke. Elena had her, and the Salvatore's, and Jeremy, and Bonnie. Hell, she was so sincerely kind, the entire town would stand by her side. Caroline didn't begrudge her friend this, as she knew that her friend deserved people to support her. She knew that she herself would tear apart the world to help her friend. Her only issue was that when Elena felt poorly for her, Caroline felt weak. Of all the feelings in the world, Caroline hated weak the most.

Elena and Caroline made their way across the square to the Grill. Once there, they got a booth by the window and perused the menu.

After placing their drink orders, Elena said "I know I said I didn't want to talk about it, and I'm sorry but with Bonnie acting so weird lately and-"

"Elena, you don't need to apologize. You can talk to me about whatever. That's what this day is about. Bonding, story-swapping, secret-sharing. Knock yourself out" Caroline gave her friend her full attention, abandoning her menu.

"Thank you." Elena smiled nervously before continuing, "So you know how I've been remembering things that I was compelled to forget about when I was human? It's been really screwing with my head, and I just wanted your opinion."

Caroline nodded and Elena resumed speaking.

"I'm not sure if I told you, but when Matt and I were turning around to go to Stefan, I was talking to Damon. I told him that if he and I had met first, things might have been different."

Caroline nodded; she thought she could guess where this was going.

"Well, as it happens, one of the things that I remembered was Damon. He and I met. And _flirted_. He was sweet and... Very not-Damon. He found my necklace and told me he loved me, back when we all thought he was a jerk. He didn't find it the day we met of course, it was later."

Caroline didn't mention that she still thought Damon was an asshole. That was not what Elena wanted to hear.

"It's weird. I mean, I told him things might have been different if he and I had met first, and they kind of are. I don't know what to do about it. Damon has always cared, no matter what and he never turned off his emotions, even though everyone thought he had... And Stefan is still Stefan and he saved me, but I think Damon saved me before I knew I was drowning." Elena finished and waited for a response from her friend.

Before Caroline could reply, the waiter returned for their food orders. After considering the menu and Elena's words, Caroline answered as honestly as she could.

"Elena... I wish there was something I could say that would make this better, but there's nothing I can do. Stefan is a great guy, but Damon is pretty good too, when he's around you. You know how I feel about the guy, but Damon tries and there's something to be said for a man who puts in the effort. Of course, Stefan never needed to put in the effort, that's just who he is, so there's that. Elena, there's no easy answer here."

Elena sighed, "I know. I just wish there was. I wish there was a way for this to end without hurting either of them. I couldn't stand to lose them."

Caroline laughed, "Sweetie, you have them so wrapped around your finger that you couldn't get them to leave, even if you wanted them to."

Caroline's words calmed her friend and Elena smiled.

They let the subject go and chatted about upcoming events and school and generally pretended that they only had one shot to get into the colleges they wanted and didn't, in fact, have an eternity to get it right.

After the appetizer had come and gone, they were just beginning to talk about the movies they had seen recently (and due to supernatural events, the word 'recently' was used very loosely) when Bonnie showed up at their table.

"Err… Hey, guys."

Bonnie was being awkward. This was not going to be good. Caroline remembered what Klaus had told her that morning. 'Not going to be good' was possibly the understatement of the year.

Bonnie took a breath before admitting her guilt.

"So… Uh… Klaus is back and it's all my fault"

Caroline looked at Elena. Her friend was staring at the witch with a blank look on her face. Slowly, her pretty features contorted into a look of pure fury.

"_**WHAT?"**_

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**A/N: Sorry for another note. I feel bad. Anyway, I'm sorry to leave you in the midst of the action but I wanted to get this up as quickly as possible to make up for the ridiculously long wait. I'm hoping to have the next chapter up in the next few days but I'm in the middle of exams, so that might not happen. I apologize in advance if I fail. **

**Yeah, I apologise a lot. Sorry. I'm Canadian. Whataya gonna do?**

**Read, enjoy, review :)**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: I am incredibly sorry that I made all of you wait so long for an update! I had like, three chapters drafted and this one done but I stupidly saved it on a USB and then lost the friggin' USB :( I have since recovered it. Obviously. **

**I hope you enjoy this. I really liked writing the dialogue. I may have gone a little overboard with it. I apologize. This is probably not the best chapter in the world, but every time I edit it, I like it less and less.**

**DISCLAIMER: I own nothing except the things I own. The characters are, unfortunately, not part of my private orc army and therefore, they do not belong to me.**

**RECAP: Klaus is back. Bonnie saved him. She put him in Tyler's body as she attempted to salvage Klaus' old body, something that took a week to do. She has since told Elena and Caroline that he is back but has yet to go into details about how she managed it. Elena is PISSED. Caroline is kinda just sitting there.**

** A lot of exclamation marks are going to be in this chapter. Sorry.**

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Caroline looked at Elena. Anger was not normally her friend's style. Elena was all about understanding that sometimes people make mistakes and giving them second chances. She was a little more volatile after becoming a vampire, but a person's natural attributes were normally magnified, which meant that Elena tended to forgive even the worst transgressions instantly these days. Something more than the usual Salvatore-related problems was bothering her friend. Something about Klaus. Caroline guessed that it might have had something to do with Elena attempting to get over her paranoia about being attacked every other day simply because she was a doppelganger.

"Elena, I am so sorry. You know I'd never try to hurt you or put you in danger, I swear. I was only trying to help. I thought you were all going to die and I didn't know what to do. I was just so angry with him for what he had done to our lives and I wanted to see him gone so badly but I was terrified that you all might leave me too and I thought if I saved him, not only would you guys live, we might be able to find a way to get some payback or something. I'm so sorry. I wasn't thinking. I should have told you sooner. I really screwed up."

Caroline watched as Elena's anger dissipated as Bonnie's confession went on. By the end of Bonnie's monologue, Elena was back to her forgiving self.

"Yeah… I know, don't worry. It's okay Bon. I just thought that for the first time in forever, I might be given time to adjust before something tried to kill me. But that's just my luck. Anyway, it doesn't matter. It's okay, we'll figure something out. We'll fix this. It's going to be fine."

It was Elena's knee-jerk reaction.

"Uh, hello? MURDERER AT LARGE? How is that okay?"

This was Caroline's role in their relationships. She was the blonde bitch. She was the angry one. She was the one who pointed out the difficult things that would be better glossed over. She knew Elena and Bonnie were closer to each other than to her. She knew that she was the squeaking third wheel that never shut up. This was okay with her. In Caroline's heart, she knew her friends needed her. If she wasn't the mean one, no issues would ever get resolved. She was loyal, honest, and fierce. The occasional bout of bitchiness was simply a side effect of those traits.

"Care, we need to hear Bonnie out. You know this isn't her fault."

"Yeah, I do but that doesn't matter. The fact is, he's back because-"

"I saved Tyler!" Bonnie burst out, cutting off Caroline's retort.

"And Klaus!"

"If I hadn't done a body switching spell and made sure that Klaus survived, Tyler would be dead. So would you, for that matter. And Stefan, and Damon." Bonnie was growing angry. It was time to back off.

"So what are we going to do?"

Elena opened her mouth to reply, but before she got the chance, Tyler burst through the Grille's door and basically flung himself at Caroline, kissing her all over her face and neck, wrapping his arms around her waist and holding onto her for dear life. It would have made her short of breath, had she still possessed the capacity to lose it.

"Care! I-"

Bonnie cut him off before he could finish whatever he was going to say.

"Tyler! What are you doing here? I thought you were going to wait in the car. I told you I'd bring her to you."

This was all said through a false smile and gritted teeth.

Oh shit. There was more. Caroline could tell. She just hoped that this body switching spell hadn't, like, reignited the sire bond or something.

"Well I'm sorry, mom. I guess I was having trouble with the fact that Caroline has been thinking I was dead for a week. I didn't want her to be upset for a second longer than she has to be. Besides, I missed her. So sue me." Tyler held Caroline tighter.

Caroline was completely lost.

"Uh… Tyler? "

"Yeah, babe?"

"Are you okay?"

"Never better, now that I know that you know I'm not six feet under."

"Tyler… I saw you _yesterday_."

"What? You mean you knew about the switch? Why didn't you talk to me? Did you hide in bushes or something?"

Caroline was obviously not getting the joke.

"Um… The Switch? I don't get it. We watched that movie three days ago. And we _did _talk about it, remember? You said it was mediocre at best and I was worried because I told you that I was kind of in love with Jason Bateman and you didn't mock me? You were all like 'you like older men? How intriguing.' Then let it drop. I was right next to you when we watched it. You had your arm around me and your pit hair isn't bad enough to be called bushes."

Tyler looked just as confused as she felt.

"Care, I haven't seen you in over a week. Bonnie used my body as a vessel for Klaus and put me in-"

He broke off as realization spilled across his face. He let her go and whirled on Bonnie.

"I HID BECAUSE YOU TOLD ME YOU NEEDED TO KEEP AN EYE ON HIM. I TRUSTED YOU. HOW COULD YOU HAVE LET HIM NEAR HER?!" He was shouting now. Like, ear-splitting yelling. The deaf people up in Canada could probably hear him. People stared. Bonnie looked vaguely terrified. Elena was anxiously looking at all three of them, following the speakers like a three way ping pong game.

"Tyler, you need to calm down. You're making a scene."

"No, Care. Bonnie has been letting that bastard Original get all hands-y with you for a whole goddamn week! Don't you dare tell me to fucking calm down!"

"What? Tyler, you need to quiet down. Breathe. Klaus hasn't been near me! I didn't know he was still alive until this morning! Believe me, the only person who gets anywhere near places that are not strictly G-rated is you."

Bonnie tried to cut in, "Ty-"

"Exactly! For the past week, Klaus has been me! Oh my- Caroline, did we have sex this week?"

Oh god. He wanted to discuss their sex life _here? __**Now? **__**He couldn't remember the last time he got laid?**_ AND he used her full name?! What was going on?

"Um, am I really _that_ bad? Actually, don't answer that. We are so not having this conversation right now. What do you mean Klaus has been you? Is this a sire thing? Do you-"

And finally, the penny dropped. She should have figured it out on her own, much sooner than this. Everything was so obvious now. Tyler had been so different! She should have known that he wasn't actually Tyler. She shouldn't have just assumed that a near death experience could change him so completely. Because, let's face it, he had been in them before and the shock of almost dying had never made him all romantic and crap before. Why was she so willing to accept that that was what had happened this time?

After all the self-flagellation had been worked out of her system, she became angry. How dare he take advantage of her like that? How _dare _he cheapen what Tyler and she had with his presence? What gave him the right to let her adore him like that when she didn't even know who he was? And where the fuck did he get off, putting Bonnie into a situation where she had to choose between revealing what she had done and risking her friends' hatred or letting Caroline be happy with a liar and sparing people pain? HOW GODDAMN MOTHER FUCKING DARE HE MESS WITH HER FRIENDS. Klaus messing with Caroline's head was at least something she was used to, but if he dared try to manipulate those she loved... No. This was not acceptable.

"Oh. My. God. I am going to _kill_ him."

And with that, Caroline was gone.

* * *

A/N: Anyone else see The Switch? I couldn't resist when I wrote the switching bit. I'm so so sorry.

This chapter was basically just something to get the action going so I understand if you think it sucks.

Over the next few chapters, I think I'm going to put in a few flashbacks of the week that Caroline and Tyler spent together when Tyler was actually Klaus. But I dunno... I'd make it all fluffy and stuff and it seems a little OOC for Klaus, but then again, Klaus is supposed to be Tyler, so it might work.


End file.
